CINEMA: Australia

Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious epic is a sprawling labour of love that seems as much a personal journey for the director as it is the characters on screen. Self consciously local from the very beginning of the project, the film – which is part romance, part Western and part war film – embodies both time and place with a great care and authority that could only be borne from sheer passion.

The story follows the journey of British aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), who inherits a huge cattle station, Faraway Downs, following the death of her husband. When its future is put at risk by a greedy businessman she joins cattle handler The Drover (Hugh Jackman) in an unlikely allegiance to protect Faraway Downs and make a stand against the man threatening her future and the future of its occupants. One such occupant is Nullah (a spellbinding performance by newcomer Brandon Walters), a young mixed race boy outcast in Australian society but whose innocence and effervescence captures the hearts of Lady Ashley and The Drover to create a untraditional family unit.

Although set against the backdrop of the Second World War and the Japanese bombings of Darwin, the personal story is what really wins through here, very much at the expense of any real historical or social impact. The bombing itself is fantastically shot but far too brief, which – when you take into account the repetitive shots of sweeping landscapes and the fact that the film is nearly two hours long – seems a bit of a waste.

That said, the landscape does look amazing. The Australian outback is incredibly cinematic by nature, and becomes even more so in the hands of Luhrmann, who gives it real life and character. However, it does slap the viewer in the face with Aussie stereotypes (at times it looks like something from the local tourist board), but these are often accompanied by a knowing wink and a humorous “crikey” or two. There are also more than a few cheesy moments (the ongoing references to The Wizard Of Oz and various incarnations of Somewhere Over The Rainbow are particularly guilty of this, as is Nicole Kidman’s overly mannered performance), which adds yet another dimension to a film that has too many angles.

Both an epic and personal story, the film has a wide appeal, but doesn’t quite satisfy in either respect. Shot lovingly and featuring mostly strong performances, the cinematography and personal relationships really shine through, but at 165 minutes most people will get a bit fidgety after what feels like the third or fourth ending.      Kat Halstead